New data from NHS England has revealed the life-saving impact of Martha’s Rule, a policy introduced earlier this year to give patients and families greater power to escalate care when they feel their concerns are not being heard. 

Martha’s Rule was introduced following the tragic death of 13-year-old Martha Mills, who died of sepsis in 2021. Despite her parents’ repeated concerns about her deteriorating condition, those concerns were not acted on in time. The rule ensures that families and patients can now request an urgent clinical review from a separate medical team when they feel care needs to be escalated.

Since its roll-out in April 2024 across 143 hospitals, the rule has already prompted 573 urgent review requests. Around half of these resulted in a critical-care review, leading to treatment changes in 57 cases.

In a further 14 cases, patients were transferred to intensive care — interventions that may not have occurred without the escalation prompted by the scheme.

The data reveals the scheme’s life-saving impact: almost one in eight calls made under Martha’s Rule has led to a potentially life-saving change in treatment, such as the administering of antibiotics, oxygen, or other medications.

The scheme allows families of rapidly deteriorating patients to dial a dedicated phone number at the hospital, requesting an urgent review from a critical-care outreach team.

Martha’s mother, Merope Mills, who campaigned tirelessly to see the rule implemented, is calling for the scheme to be extended to all NHS hospitals.

“I’d really like it to be simple around the country and for patients to understand it in the way that they understand 999, and 111,” she told the Today programme.

“Losing a loved one in a preventable way compounds your grief and your devastation,” Merope said. “But if nobody learns from it, nothing changes.”

She added that there had been sceptics of the scheme when it launched back in April.

“There were people who said if you give patients this kind of power, they’ll call it for the wrong reasons — they will be complaining about food, they’ll be wanting a cup of tea. And we have the first clear evidence that this is not the case.”

The Global State of Patient Safety 2023 report by the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London reveals that the UK could prevent over 17,000 deaths annually by matching the patient safety performance of the top 10 per cent of OECD countries. These preventable deaths include:

  • 15,773 deaths from treatable mortality, where timely and effective healthcare interventions could have saved lives.
  • 776 neonatal deaths, highlighting the need for improved care for newborns.
  • 27 maternal deaths, underscoring the importance of enhanced maternal healthcare.
  • 780 deaths due to adverse effects of medical treatment, indicating areas where patient safety protocols could be strengthened.

Implementing measures like Martha’s Rule could play a significant role in reducing these preventable deaths by ensuring timely interventions and addressing concerns before they escalate.

NHS England has announced plans to further develop and expand Martha’s Rule in 2025 and 2026, with adaptations where needed to ensure its effectiveness.

Meanwhile, a similar scheme is currently being piloted by the NHS in Wales, and discussions are underway to introduce it in Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, legislation introduced in 2019 already grants NHS patients the right to request a second opinion, providing a comparable safeguard for patient care.